Web applications are programs which are typically stored on a remote server and accessed through the Internet. Because a web application is exposed to the public through the Internet, it is critical for owners and developers of the web application to protect the web application from malicious users. Insecure software can be detrimental to web applications in many other areas of technology including financial, healthcare, defense, energy, and other critical infrastructure. As web applications become increasingly complex and connected, the difficulty of achieving application security increases exponentially. The rapid pace of modern software development processes makes the most common risks essential to discover and resolve quickly and accurately. Therefore, even simple security problems can no longer be tolerated.
In order to protect a web application, testing is often performed on a routine basis to ensure that the web application is performing as expected. To adequately test and protect the web application, a tester must have a clear understanding of its structure. This is especially true for complex systems such as cloud-based applications. However, the complexity of a web application creates an inherent challenge because it can be difficult to clearly describe an application's structure in terms of data flow. Accordingly, an improved mechanism for understanding a how data flows into and out of a web application is needed.
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